Labor Pick Andy Puzder is Already in Jeopardy. Now He’s Being Sued for Wage-Fixing.

THE COMPANY RUN by Andy Puzder, who President Trump has nominated for secretary of labor, ran an illegal wage-fixing scheme for managers at his company’s restaurants, according to a class-action lawsuit filed in California superior court last week.

Puzder is the CEO of the vast Carl Karcher Enterprises (CKE) fast-food chain. One former and one current Carl’s Jr. shift leader allege that franchisees – which Puzder has repeatedly described as independent businesses — colluded with one another to prevent managers from moving between restaurants.

As alleged, the scheme also appears to violate federal law under the Sherman Antitrust Act, as an illegal restraint of trade. That would be a felony punishable by a $1 million fine and up to 10 years in prison for individuals charged.

But the class-action suit filed February 8 in Los Angeles, part of a pattern of alleged labor violations at Carl Karcher Enterprises (CKE) restaurant chains, speaks to the very issues that Puzder would oversee at the Labor Department. Puzder has already proven himself an outspoken critic of the minimum wage, expanded overtime laws and workplace safety rules, and the case charges that under Puzder’s leadership, CKE again violated worker rights.

The lawsuit attempts to show that CKE, which owns the Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s, Green Burrito, and Red Burrito brands, undermined workers’ ability to thrive in the free market that Puzder cherishes so much in public.